Sensex rises for fourth day; Reliance, pharma lead

REUTERS – Indian shares rose for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday, boosted by Reliance Industries Ltd after Goldman Sachs raised its target price on the stock.

Goldman Sachs raised the target price on Reliance by 26 percent to 1,205 rupees and added the stock to its ‘conviction list’ with a ‘buy’ rating. The investment bank also expects the company’s core earnings to double over the next three years. Reliance shares gained as much as 2 percent.

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.41 percent at 10,341.05 as of 0637 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.44 percent higher at 33,507.26.

The Nifty Pharma index rose 2.2 percent with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd gaining 9.65 percent after the company got Establishment Inspection Report from the U.S. FDA for its Duvvada facility at Vishakapatman.

Broader Asian markets were trading higher after strong German economic data boosted sentiment.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.8 percent.

“Markets are riding on momentum and though there could be profit-booking by derivatives expiry next week, I expect Nifty to cross 10,500,” said Krish Subramanyam, co-head – equity advisor at Altamount Capital.

Logistics firms gained after the government granted infrastructure status to the sector to help enable easy access to loans. Allcargo Logistics Ltd rose as much as 3.8 percent.

Quess Corp Ltd surged as much as 9.5 percent after agreeing to buy a 51 percent stake in Tata Business Support Services Ltd.

Among losers, L&T Finance Holdings Ltd fell 3.9 percent after IFR reported that Citigroup is selling a 2.15 percent stake in the company.